Moreover, during past military drills, situations like “soldiers don’t recognize their general, generals don’t recognize their soldiers”—such a laughable affair that makes one drop their jaw—happened from time to time. When the enemy invaded, the first reaction of the generals was not to think about countermeasures, but to go ask the civil officials how to fight. Aside from delaying the timing for battle, some civil officials’ minds seemed like they had rusted—completely unable to analyze the situation, only knowing how to rigidly recite from written rules and stubbornly cling to their own views, causing soldiers to die in vain.
And this prevalent atmosphere of “honoring the civil and suppressing the military” also caused the soldiers to be deprived of the rewards and respect they deserved. Naturally, when soldiers went to battle, they wouldn’t give their best effort, and they would already lose in morale from the start.
Because Li Yue had the status of a prince, he had no scruples when acting in the Northern Frontier. He had his own way of fighting. But even so, he had been reprimanded many times by the late emperor. Later on, when the late emperor sent letters again, he didn’t even look at them and just directly burned them. Afterward, when he won a few battles in the Northern Frontier, the late emperor’s attitude toward him gradually began to change.
“…Moreover, has Beloved Subject Wei become old and his memory not so good? Didn’t we, Da Zhou, still have to pay tribute to the Northern Frontier a few years ago? Since the founding of Da Zhou, how many defeats have we suffered in the Northern Frontier—has Beloved Subject Wei kept count?”
“This…” Wei Jun’an lowered his head and couldn’t speak. As a zhongshuling [中书令, Chief of the Central Secretariat], how would he ever go count such things? Besides, ever since Li Yue ascended the throne, the foreign tribes had rarely invaded. He had paid even less attention to the war affairs at the Northern Frontier.
Meng Fu said indifferently, “So it seems Beloved Subject Wei hasn’t counted them. I have. I can tell you—adding them all up, Da Zhou has lost a total of one hundred and seventeen battles, big and small. In the most disastrous one, our side lost more than one hundred thousand troops, was forced to cede two cities, and sent several million taels of silver to the foreign tribes. Is this the so-called flourishing and peaceful state of the realm that Beloved Subject Wei speaks of? Beloved Subject Wei, you have greatly disappointed me.”
Wei Jun’an couldn’t say a word. He had lived in peace for too long and had forgotten how many years of humiliation Da Zhou had once suffered.
And the peace he enjoyed was precisely what Li Yue had earned by defying all the regulations of the time and fighting for it himself.
After refuting Wei Jun’an’s entire argument one by one, Meng Fu looked at Liu Changlan and asked, “What does Beloved Subject Liu think?”
Liu Changlan, who always liked to smooth things over, started with the same old lines. He said, “Your Majesty, this humble official believes what Lord Wei said is reasonable. This concerns the foundation of Da Zhou for generations to come, and the well-being of countless common people. May Your Majesty consider this carefully.”
Meng Fu said, “I already said—this is what I’ve decided after considering carefully. Since you believe that Lord Wei’s words are reasonable, does that mean you think My words are unreasonable?”
Liu Changlan felt a chill down his neck, as though his head might fall off in the next moment. He immediately pleaded guilty: “This humble official would not dare.”
Meng Fu on the court did not speak, and Liu Changlan’s heart almost leapt to his throat. He could only say: “What Your Majesty says is also reasonable. It’s just that this humble official believes it still needs to be discussed further.”
Wei Jun’an couldn’t help glancing at Liu Changlan—wasn’t that backing down a bit too quickly?
“Discuss what?” Meng Fu asked.
Liu Changlan felt that every one of His Majesty’s proposed reforms needed to be discussed further, but for now he could only test the waters and said: “Your Majesty, is it not a bit too many to suddenly add thirty official positions in the court?”
Meng Fu thoroughly understood these ministers’ mindset. She and His Majesty had a number in mind, but it absolutely could not be revealed too easily now. So she only said, “I think it’s just right.”
Liu Changlan thought in his heart: Just right where! With thirty more people added to the Xuanzheng Hall, it would immediately become crowded. He and Wei Jun’an might even have to sit side by side. Just thinking about that already made him uncomfortable.
“Moreover, didn’t I say we’re going to reduce one-fifth of the court officials?”
When Liu Changlan heard this, he felt even more unable to accept it. He thought it’d be better to sit shoulder to shoulder with Wei Jun’an hand in hand than that. He said, “Your Majesty, reducing one-fifth is just too much. Could it be a little less?”
Meng Fu raised her head to glance at Liu Changlan. There was no anger on her face, only a mild question: “Beloved Subject Liu, do you think this is like haggling with Zhen at a marketplace? Trying to bargain with Zhen?”
Liu Changlan immediately knelt down and said in fear, “This humble official would not dare.”
“Enough. Do the rest of My beloved subjects have any other objections?”
Of course they did! But what they wanted to say had already been said by Wei Jun’an just now—and His Majesty had refuted every bit of it. It looked like His Majesty was determined to do things this way.
This was practically taking their lives! There was no way they could agree. Anyway, as long as all of them opposed it, the matter would just keep getting dragged out.
“Since none of the beloved subjects have any other objections, then court is dismissed. General Tang, stay behind. I have something to discuss with you.”
Discuss what? It was obviously about this reform. For a moment, the officials even imagined that by the time they came to court tomorrow, they’d see several unfamiliar faces sitting beside them.
After the court was dismissed, everyone walked out of Xuanzheng Hall with their heads lowered, all looking as if they had lost their parents. No wonder His Majesty had been so kind to them recently—so he had been holding back a big one. What came before was just letting them have a good last meal before death.
They had been so obedient to His Majesty’s words, and His Majesty treated them with warmth and good temper. They thought ruler and ministers were of one heart, and it would become a fine story recorded in the history books hundreds of years later. Never did they expect that their sincere loyalty had all been wrongly placed. His Majesty’s heart, in the end, still belonged to those military officers.
Sigh.
Previously, they had sworn with great confidence that if they agreed to His Majesty’s performance assessment plan, they’d be grandsons. But in less than half a day, Wei Jun’an led his Central Secretariat to defect and side with His Majesty. Not long after, Liu Changlan also forgot his earlier oath and willingly became a “grandson.” The entire court of civil and military officials had become grandsons, all from the same generation—so there was no gain or loss in that anymore.
How much longer could they hold out this time?
Wei Jun’an and Liu Changlan knew clearly in their hearts—this matter absolutely could not be left to His Majesty’s will. This wasn’t only a heavy blow to them—it also wasn’t a good thing for the scholars of the world.
Someone wondered aloud: “Why would His Majesty suddenly want to do this? Hasn’t the Northern Frontier been relatively peaceful recently?”
A colleague replied: “It’s not exactly sudden. A few years back, His Majesty already had this intention.”
“But His Majesty’s move is just too ruthless. If it were only about promoting a few military officers, that would be fine—but to even cut down one-fifth of the court officials to make room for them…”
“Exactly, one-fifth! Won’t those military officers just flip the heavens when that happens?”
At this rate, they might be dismissed from office, or exiled to some godforsaken place. His Majesty’s move was simply too harsh.
In the days that followed, the ministers advised His Majesty in court every day, trying to persuade him to abandon the idea of reform. They said Da Zhou had followed this system for over two hundred years; they said this was the foundation for the country’s stability; they said this move would chill the hearts of all the earnest students in the empire.
The first two points, Meng Fu had already refuted once before. As for the last one, it was even more meaningless—hadn’t the hearts of the soldiers already been chilled for two hundred years? Why did it have to continue like that? Soldiers shed blood on the frontlines in battle—did they not deserve the rewards they were owed?
The officials found that they couldn’t out-argue Meng Fu, so they simply stopped bringing it up in court. But if they didn’t bring it up, Meng Fu would. She called on Tang Mingqi to cooperate with her in putting on a show. The two of them sang in harmony, as if they had already decided whom to promote and whom to dismiss.
Wei Jun’an and Liu Changlan grew even more flustered. They racked their brains and tried everything to find excuses to persuade His Majesty, but every time, their arguments would unravel and end with them at fault. In the past, they had never seen His Majesty speak so well! He used to scold people when he was angry—now he could argue with them in court logically and clearly, even more showing his resolve.
During this period, both Wei Jun’an and Liu Changlan felt that they had aged a lot.
After an intense tug-of-war, Wei Jun’an and the others felt that His Majesty seemed to have already arranged everything behind the scenes. That day in court, once again, was just listening to His Majesty and Tang Mingqi discuss which people to select. Wei Jun’an felt deflated and wanted to resist passively, when suddenly he heard Tang Mingqi say that several military officers must remain stationed at the border and couldn’t come to court.
A flash of inspiration crossed Wei Jun’an’s mind. Without time to think carefully, he opened his mouth and said: “Your Majesty, finding thirty suitable military officers for court positions all at once is not easy. This is a matter of great importance and absolutely cannot be decided hastily. Why not appoint some appropriate ones first, and decide the rest later?”
Meng Fu on the dragon throne did not immediately reply and seemed to be seriously considering Wei Jun’an’s words. Wei Jun’an didn’t know if His Majesty would agree or not. He thought that as long as the number of promoted military officers was reduced, the number of civil officials they’d have to cut would naturally decrease.
If he could save even one position, it would be a win!
After a long while, he heard His Majesty slowly say: “Beloved Subject Wei makes some sense. Let Us think it over again.”
Wei Jun’an’s eyes lit up—this might work!
This might actually work!